In a 2007 article in Music Theory Spectrum, Jocelyn Neal outlines a narrative structure which she calls the "time-shift" paradigm. In short, given a standard three-verse song structure with a chorus or refrain separating the verses, the first verse deals with childhood or youth; the second verse engages the present; and the last verse points toward the future either in terms of old age or the afterlife. Typically, the chorus serves to "fast-forward" to the next stage of life and can often forces the listener to recontextualize the lyrical content of both the preceding verse(s) and the chorus itself.

Jelani Cobb posits a similar narrative framework characteristic of many rap songs (Cobb 2007). Cobb's theory is rooted in a broader discussion of autobiography as a literary genre, and he traces the origin of the autobiographical in rap music to the autobiography of Malcolm X. This narrative, which Cobb calls "the Malcolm X formula," has a much in common with Neal's time-shift paradigm; however, Cobb does not engage in musical analysis of any kind, using only short lyrical excerpts to illustrate his point.

In this paper, I contend that a synthesis of Neal's time-shift paradigm and Cobb's Malcolm X results in a useful tool for exploring the intersection of autobiography and musical form in contemporary rap music. Analyses of "Juicy" by the Notorious B.I.G., "December ^4th" by Jay-Z, and "Same Love" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis illustrate how Cobb's formula can be interpreted through the music- analytical apparatus that Neal offers. Furthermore, the intersection of these two paradigms sheds some light on the similarities between country and rap music, two genres that superficially appear quite different. Both genres traffic heavily in claims to authenticity, which lends an element of credibility to the autobiographical narrative. The commercialization and commodification of both genres suggests that market forces may also have a role to play in the development and circulation of such narrative paradigms as well.